EAGLE Sports made it two semi-finals in two weeks as they came from behind to win 2-1 at Whalley Range in the Cheshire Football League JB Parker Challenge Cup and book their place in the last four teams of the competition.
With six players unavailable from the previous week’s squad, Joint Managers Danny Nixon and Richard Chinn were forced to make changesl and the system used and the home side took advantage of this early in the game, taking a 1-0 lead, with the winger finishing from close range.
The Gulls responded well from this however and were level 10 minutes later, when Luke Sutton’s low effort was spilled into the net by the home keeper.
Less than a minute into the second half, Eagle took the lead when Owen Ellis managed to get the ball to Sutton, who beat his defender and finished low into the far corner to give his second goal of the day.
The home side pushed hard for an equaliser in the second half, with Liam Marlow making two excellent saves and the rest of the Eagle team putting their bodies on the line when needed and that was enough as the Gulls held on to take an excellent victory and give them another opportunity of reaching a cup final this season.
Richard Chinn said: “That’s a great win today, in what was a proper cup tie. Both teams having a real go, fully committed and I’m sure the spectators from both sides probably enjoyed watching it, regardless of the result.
“It’s our first time here and you can see it’s a tough place to come and get anything, Whalley’s results have shown that, so, to come here, with eight players missing, including six from last week’s squad, and to turn in that kind of bodies on the line performance, myself and Nico are made up.
“Special praise goes to the lads who have stepped up today. Kieran Virdi has come on twice in big cup games in the last six weeks and been excellent, with Sam Littler and Ethan Cain making their first team debuts, so it’s great to see that we can rely on these lads if needed.
‘Our boys put a right shift in after conceding early and whilst we got a bit of luck with a goalkeeper error for the equaliser, we probably deserved to go in level at half time. We’ve then come out and caught them early, which was great from our part but we’ve had to work very hard to win that game from that point.”
The Gulls return to league action this coming Saturday, the first time in six weeks, when they make the trip to Crewe FC, kick off 2pm.
Team: Liam Marlow, Owen Duncan, Henry Carver, Tom Griffiths, Adam Coleman, Olly Fleming, Luke Sutton, Lewis McEvatt, Danny Hutchins, Owen Ellis, Ryan Wan
Subs: Ethan Cain, Kieran Virdi, Caleb Clegg, Sam Littler, Richard Chinn
Eagle come from behind to book place in last four
00 Comments
Share.